An ongoing series of articles and essays on how cultures control and warp the mindset and behavior of people, and the extraordinary influence that the Chinese, Japanese, Korean and Mexican languages have on the people of those countries...in business and in all their personal relationships.

About Me

I have been involved with Japan, Asia and Mexico since the late 1940s as a member of a U.S. intelligence agency, student, journalist, and editor, and am the author of more than 60 books on Japan, Korea and China, including the first books ever on the Japanese way of doing business: "Japanese Etiquette & Ethics in Business" (1959), and "How to Do Business With the Japanese" (1961). My other pioneer series include business and cultural ‘code word’ books on the above countries. My printed books, widely used by business people and in universities around the world, are available from Amazon.com, BarnesandNoble.com and Borders.com, as well as major retail bookstores.
To see a listing of my books, go to any of the above booksellers and type my full name into their Search option, or see my personal website: phoenixbookspublishers.com.

Monday, April 2, 2007

WENHUA (Win-wha) – How Foreigners Can Use the “Culture Card” in China!

First Comes Understanding

the True Meaning of Culture!

Boyé Lafayette De Mente

Most Westerners think of culture (when they think of it at all) in terms of the arts, literature and music, but these elements are only a small part of culture. Culture covers the way people think, talk and behave as well as the way they work and what they create.

The various mental constructs that people have of their own existence, of life in all of its forms and of the universe at large, is a product of their own cultures. In other words, people are programmed by their culture to view and react to their world in certain ways, and it is this programming that makes them different.

Despite the attempts by Mao Zedung and his Communist regime to destroy all vestiges of China’s traditional culture from 1966 to 1976, and despite the inroads made by Western cultures since then, most of the core values and basic behavioral patterns of the Chinese that have been in existence for more than two thousand years are still very much in evidence throughout the country.

In fact, the traditional culture of China is one of the most enduring and powerful ever to have been developed, and since it is the force that motivates and guides such a large number of people it is obviously one of the world’s most important cultures.

Wenhua (win-wha), the Chinese term for culture, can be translated as “patterns of thought and behavior,” and it is so powerful that Chinese whose families have lived abroad for several generations are still culturally identifiable as “Chinese.”

The Chinese have traditionally viewed China more as a cultural entity than as a landmass, and in the past some writers have suggested that the country should be called Zhong Hua (Chong Whah) or “Central Cultural Essence” instead of Zhong Guo (Chong Gwoh) or “Central Kingdom.”

Present-day Chinese remain especially sensitive to their characteristic ways, and they appreciate it when foreigners make an effort to learn something about their culture and follow some of its customs and etiquette.

For more comprehensive insights into Chinese culture, see the author’s book, The Chinese Have a Word for It! (McGraw-Hill), which consists of definitive explanations of more than 300 of China’s “cultural code words.” To see a full list of his 60-plus cultural-insight books on China, Japan, Korea and Mexico see his personal website at: http://www.phoenixbookspublishers.com/.